bring high prices. There are also Greek-Imperial and Colonial coins bearing his effigies, but I know of none that were struck in Egypt. A peculiarity in the legends of this Prince is, that some of the coins minted during his life bear the title of Augustus, while those after his death have but that of Cæsar-whence it may be inferred that the former was informally bestowed by his father, and not confirmed by the Senate. Eckhel thinks this may have arisen from Gallienus's having designated his son Imperator, when sent into Gaul, in order to give him authority; and that some of the moneyers, accustomed to see this title accompanied by that of Augustus, made the mistake.* Much confusion has arisen from attributing some of the medals of Saloninus, to Valerian Junior, the brother of Gallienus, a prince of courage, virtue, and ability. But it is certain, notwithstanding the feeble admissions of Pollio, that the latter was never either Cæsar or Augustus, and that consequently no medals were struck in his honour. Eckhel has therefore-after ably discussing the ancient historians, the Fasti, marbles, and medals, in proof of his position-restored to Saloninus all those coins which had been assigned to Valerian Junior. The denarii of Julius Gallienus, the younger brother of this Prince, are involved in uncertainty; and the medal of Galliena-the cousin of Gallienus, who instigated the assassination of Celsus, the usurper-was only known to Goltzius. CCCCXCIX. Obverse. P. C. S. VALERIANVS CAES. (Publius Cornelius Saloninus Valerianus, Cæsar.) An interesting juvenile head of the youthful prince, with good features, close cut hair, and the sagum on his shoulders. This medal is round, and though scarcely patinated, is in superior condition; it was purchased from the collection of the late Mr. Paternoster, of Hitchin, in 1832. Reverse. PRINCIPI IVVENT. (Principi Juventutis.) In the field S. C. A young warrior, bare-headed, and in a graceful attitude, holds a spear,† with the point downwards, in his left hand, and a globe in his right: the one shewing the world ruled, and the other that arms are ready against those who disturb its peace. See No. CCLXXXIII. I have had two or three specimens of this type, but none with a slave at the prince's feet, as figured in Queen Christina's collection, and described by Occo and Angeloni. On all but the medal before us, he is styled Nobilis Cæsar, which agrees well with Spanheim's " Nobilissimus adolescenti- bus Equestris ordinis." D. Obverse. DIVO CAES. VALERIANO. (Divo Cæsari Valeriano.) The bare head of Saloninus, with boyish features, and short hair, as above. This medal, in capital preservation and coated with reddish-brown patina, was obtained at Corinth, in 1820. Reverse. CONSECRATIO. On the exergum S. C. A stately rogus of five stories, decorated with sculptures and festoons, surmounted by a triumphal biga, bearing a statue of the deceased Prince. See No. CCLIII. This marks the respect paid to the memory of the murdered A new legend appears on a denarius of Saloninus: it represents Jupiter giving a Victory to the laureated Gallienus, and is inscribed " Dii Nutritores," whence Tristan thinks the Emperor calls himself one of the nourishers of the child. There is also another with "Jovi Crescenti," on which an infant sits upon a goat, holding on by one of its horns; and thus we are told, boys were taught to ride, being set upon sheep and goats, before they were allowed to try horses. + From the length of the barbs of this spear, an antiquary has lately described it as the "pedum," or pastoral staff an attribute not at all connected with the legend or device of the medal. Saloninus, with whose untimely death Gallienus was much affected, though for several years he did not march to avenge it. This is the last "Divus" on large brass, though the title was continued on other medals, and was even applied to Constantine the Great:* it may be supposed, however, that occasional gleams from the light of Christianity, had weakened the rays of divinity attached to it, and reduced its value to that of "sacred" majesty, assumed by our own kings, after James the First. Still it was presumed by the people, that these deified princes were so many additions to the corps of Semones, or mortals who obtained immortality. They had long fallen into disrepute. Lucian is confounded with their numbers, and is for making every deity produce certificates of his parentage and place of nativity, and how he came to be a god. And Juvenal, rallying the frequent apotheoses, represents poor Atlas, as almost sinking under the accumulated weight of such a multitude of celestials: "Nec turba Deorum Talis, ut est hodie, contentaque sydera paucis Numinibus miserum urgebant Atlanta minori The mythic system of the Romans, however, inconsistent as it was, had no such absurdity as gods wounded, imprisoned, and enslaved by mortals; and on the whole was somewhat less fanatical than that of the Greeks. But it was based on the grossest materialism; and the sole prospect afforded by their Elysium, was merely a perpetuation of the exercises and sports enjoyed on the banks of the Tiber, to the faithful: the disbelievers consoled themselves under the adage" Edamus et bibamus; post mortem nulla voluptas.” Thus closes the series of Roman Medals which I have attempted to describe; an attempt in which, however I may have failed, it must be seen that those precious relics are highly important to learning, taste, and moral feeling, as indisputable monuments of the grandeur, confirmations of the history, and demonstrations of the high state of the fine arts of the first city of the ancient world. But with the fall of the family of Gallienus, ends the history of the Higher Empire; and it is a singularly remarkable coincidence, that the very period at which historians have agreed to commence the Lower Empire, is also that where the Latin large-brass coinage terminates; or, at least, where the legitimate sestertius becomes extinct, and the fine yellow brass of the Roman mint disappears. But the real assarium, or small-brass coin of eight to the ounce, becomes surprisingly common-for though medallists make a trite application of the name, it was rarely minted till towards the end of Gallienus's reign. Nor are these the only numismatic peculiarities of that period: thenceforward Colonial and Greek-Imperial medals are seldom met with notwithstanding those of potin, a mixture of copper and tin with a little silver, and of billon, or copper with a small alloy of silver, were still common in Egypt. The argentei, first materially debased by Severus, had now become so vitiated as to be little better than the coins called "Denarii æris," and "Philippeit ærei," which were merely * Mr. Thurburn, of Alexandria, presented me with a small-brass coin of Constantius Chlorus, having his deification legend on the obverse, and the reverse inscribed “Requies optimorum meritorum.” ↑ The word philip had become a familiar appellation for any kind of coin—as argenteus phillippus, &c. copper washed with silver ;-a depreciation which will be at once perceived by the following scale : Augustus Caracalla Weight in grains. Pure silver. The sun of the Roman Power was now descending rapidly to the political horizon, and besides the earthquakes, floods, pestilence, and other miseries of Gallienus's reign, the several armies advanced their own generals to the Cæsarian laurels, alınost simultaneously, and filled the Provinces with insolence, rapine, and blood. These usurpers, who were mostly men of superior talents, are designated the Thirty Tyrants, an epithet perhaps given by some Philhellenes, since no more than 19 can be mustered by history, unless we admit that Lollianus, Elianus, and Lælianus, were three distinct personages: they may be thus classed by a medallist These Tyrants were a disunited set, each working for his own object; but amidst their treasons, the brave Odenathus continued faithful, and saved the Roman authority in the East. This excellent warrior was scarcely known till the captivity of Valerian, when by rich gifts and earnest entreaties he endeavoured to procure the enlargement of his sovereign. But the haughty Sapor tore the letters, threw the presents into a river, and threatened to destroy the donor, unless he prostrated himself in bonds to solicit forgiveness; which arrogance so exasperated Odenathus, that he swore to pursue the Persians with fire and sword, and to humble the pride of their monarch. His numerous victories indicate that, had he not been treacherously assassinated, he would fully have accomplished his vows; as it was, he had the satisfaction of driving Sapor through Edessa, capturing his wives and treasure, and reducing Ctesiphon-services for which Gallienus associated him in the Empire. But the public evils were irremediable; and such was the universal alarm, that many persons died through fear. Under circumstances like these, it is no matter of surprise that the " desperatio de Salutate Reipublicæ," which in the prouder days of Rome was a heinous crime, had now become general. In vain were the Sybilline books consulted, in vain were public processions made, and sacrifices offered on every altar-the plague raged with as great violence as ever, and all nature seemed to unite in rendering the division of the Upper and Lower Empires a memorable epoch. These extraordinary calamities so moved Gallienus to remorse, that thinking to pacify the wrath of Heaven, he relaxed the persecution against the Christians, and sent forth edicts in their favour. Such was the aspect of affairs at this crisis of Roman fate: and one of the most striking indications of decadence was, that after a long course of foreign war and conquest, Rome became indifferent to her external affairs, and absorbed by intestine commotions: and it is probable that this apathy led to the ruin of the "Eternal City," since it was merely the opinion of her inactivity that encouraged the Barbarians first to insult, and ultimately to conquer those who had become so degraded in moral virtue and physical strength ADDENDA. I mentioned at p. 36, that the medal of Britannicus, No. XLIII. was of questionable authenticity; and since those remarks were printed, an opportunity has been offered of replacing it by the following Obverse. KAAYAIOL BPETANNIKOE KAICAP. A youthful unlaureated head, having sensible features, smooth small chin, prominent nose, well-placed eye, and a long throat, with the shoulders robed. This rare medal was formerly in the Rothlin collection. It is coated with olive-green patina, is in remarkable preservation, and was purchased at Mr. Willett's sale, in 1834, for 15 guineas. Reverse. AAABANAEON. Apollo naked, standing in an easy attitude to the left, with a quiver at his back; his left hand holding a bow, and on his right hand a bird sitting. At his feet a ram standing. Apollo was the divinity most frequent on the coins or Alabanda, in Caria, and he is known to have been much worshipped there. No representation, however, of him occurs on other coins of this town in a similar attitude, and with similar attributes. The device is described by Seguin, San Clemente, Sestini, and Mionnet; but Sestini thinks his specimen was altered and retouched from a coin of Claudius, as described in Mionnet's Supplement, v. 6, p. 438. Anxious to compress within moderate limits, the quantity of interesting matter arising from numismatic researches, I fixed on a series of 500 medals only for description; but it was quickly found that at least 100 more, from their perfection and expressive reverses, pressed hard for admittance :-but to adhere to round numbers, only 99 were replaced in the Cabinet, owing to the last of Sabina, and first of Ælius Cæsar, having by mistake, both been numbered CXCII. And although, from having made frequent reference to the others in their numerical order of arrangement, I can at present only enumerate the addenda here, I may take a future opportunity of descanting upon them. I. Tiberius................ Ti. Caesar divi Aug. F. August. P. M. Tr. Pot. XXXVII.-Head of the Emperor. Absquè epigraphe.-A magnificent temple, with sculptures. II. Agrippina Senior. Agrippina Germanici Caesaris.-The head of Agrippina Senior. Ti. Claudius Caesar Aug. Germ. P. M. Tr. P. Imp. P. P.-S. C. and countermarks. III. Claudius.................. Ti. Claudius Caesar Aug. P. M. Tr. P. Imp. P. P.-The head of Claudius, counter Nero. marked. Nero Claudius Drusus German. Imp.-A triumphal arch. IV. Nero Claud. Caes. Aug. Ger. P. M. Tr. P. Imp. P. P.-The head of Nero. |